Moonlight Water Margin Game

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Moonlight Water Margin Game

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Where should I start my tale? With the chance by
which Merchant Zhao saved the life of Li Jin Lao in
a wayside inn, earning his gratitude, and the hatred
of the moon-faced would-be assassin? Or perhaps
with the arrival at the same inn of the Taoist named
Tao? A story is like a tree, sending down roots into
the past, and reaching up with green-bedecked
branches to the overarching future. The roots you
cannot see, but the trunk... ah, the trunk it is that
supports everything. And the trunk of this story is
the town of Jinfang.
In those days the magistrate of Jinfang, Xiong
Kun Ling, was a very successful man. Not
personally popular—outside his earshot he was
known as Twisted Grass—but successful. He had a
reputation for being merciless and abrupt, but he
got results. In his two years at Jinfang he had
prosecuted the perpetrator of every crime that had
been committed within his town’s boundaries. As a
result, criminals no longer dared to disturb the
peace of the Empire within Magistrate Xiong’s
jurisdiction.
What was this man’s secret? I can assure you that
it was not through the efforts of the Sheriff. Chin
Yong, who had assumed the post five years ago, had
shown no greater ability at catching evil-doers in the
early days than did any other dogshead official of
West Jingdong circuit. After Xiong’s arrival in the
second year of the Great View period, accompanied
by a short, pale fellow by the name of Black Hou,
things changed... as if by magic.
Merchant Zhao was an old man. Old and bitter. He
sometimes felt that he had spent
the better part of his 67 years
hammering against that great,
faceless wall labelled officialdom
until his fists and arms were raw
and bloody from the effort. It was
no use pointing out to him that
he had a successful business
spanning three circuits. He
would simply scowl and tell you
that it could have been all 24
circuits of the Empire were it not
for the deliberate efforts made by
one petty functionary after
another to hamper his every
move. He would regale you with
the story of the time he tried to
set up shop in Ganxing, a
conveniently placed town on the Grand Canal just a
couple of hundred li south of the Yellow River. Of
how he had been forced to return every day of ten to
the magistrate’s yamen to obtain a new set of seals
on a new set of documents. Of how, once he had
finally submitted all the papers, bought the property,
wined and dined the local dignitaries and paid
substantial inducements to all and sundry, a smug-
faced clerk had turned up and told him that the
Registrar had noticed that he wasn’t born in
Ganxing, and that he therefore was not permitted to
start trading there until he had been resident for the
statutory 2 years, and entered on the households
register.
Perhaps what made Zhao Yu most bitter was that
he had finally given up. He certainly didn’t admit it
to anyone else, and we cannot know whether he
admitted it to himself, but he had, at last, started to
behave as if the officials had won. He had taken an
interest in his nephew Zhou Li, but his efforts
towards the 15 year old’s education seemed to push
more for an official or military career than that of
the lifeblood of the Empire—trade.
Zhao arrived in Jinfang in strange company. His
retainers Cao and Deng, and his bodyguard Teng Ai,
they weren’t strange. But the wild-eyed Taoist with
two sabres ineptly concealed on his back—he was
certainly strange. And the young, serious-faced
scholar was no less out-of-place than the pretty
singing girl with the overly delicate manners, and
her anxious manageress. Zhao wasn’t really happy
travelling with this crowd. But he had saved the
scholar’s life and become embroiled, along with the
others, in the scholar’s mission.
It turned out that in the impossibly law-abiding
town of Jinfang a crime had been
committed. A murder. A foul and
shocking murder at that. The
daughter of a rich, retired soldier,
Tan by name, had been spirited
out of the city and killed with
such savagery that each person
you talked to had a new, grisly
detail to add to the tapestry of
gore.
True to his reputation,
Magistrate Xiong had the culprit
up before him within a few days.
Cai Shou, a farmer from Jun
County, in the north of the
district, was brought to book and,
at a packed session, confessed.
He described details of the crime
1A\66 Oi HOO×\í081

Zhao Yu, the merchant
Tales of Moonlight 2

that could be known only, announced the
Magistrate, to the investigating authorities and the
perpetrator of the act. A provisional death sentence
was applied, following the referral of the case to the
Metropolitan Court in the Eastern Capital.
That was how Li Jin Lao got involved. As a Ward
Chief of Jun County he was shocked to hear from
Cai’s family that they knew for a fact that he hadn’t
committed the murder, as he was helping to put out
a small fire in an outhouse that night. Weighing up
the chances of Magistrate Xiong taking action based
on this intelligence, Scholar Li opted instead for a
dash to the Capital, where, with the help of a family
friend who held the post of 5th Rank Mandarin, he
might be able to bring these facts to the attention of
the great and good of the land and, if, necessary, the
August Emperor himself.
This he had done, though on the way a night
visitor robbed him of the life of one of his retainers,
and very nearly his own. He had been saved by the
timely arrival of Zhao, a light sleeper at the best of
times, who banged on his door in order to get him
to shut up a bit and let old men sleep, only for the
door to swing open on the moonlit sight of a moon-
faced man throttling Li with a chain. Moonface,
whom they had met earlier that evening in the
common room, escaped by the window. A travelling
Buddhist monk from the monastery on Songshan
was able to keep Li’s po spirits within his body.
And so Scholar Li, and his benefactors, made it to
the Capital, and set the bureaucratic wheels in
motion. That should have been an end of the
matter. Something had piqued Zhao’s curiosity,
though. It could have been the possibility of an
official even worse than those who had plagued him
in the past, or it could have been the prospect of an
exclusive deal on the silk produced in Li’s County.
So he ended up in Jinfang in strange company.
The singing girl, Gui Hua, had
been at the inn when Scholar Li
was attacked. If anything, she had
shown a greater determination to
bring Moonface to justice than
anyone, and had drawn portraits
of the man which had earned her
a little money from the
authorities to which the murder
was reported.
The Taoist had come along later.
His first act had been to insult
the monk who had revived Li.
The monk, without any fuss or
bravado, had invited him to step
outside. Those still tending Li
heard a swish, a sharp crack,
followed by a dull thud, and the monk rejoined
them a few seconds later. They didn’t dare ask, but
when Gui Hua came in several minutes later, she
asked if they knew anything about the unconscious
Taoist lying slap bang in the middle of the courtyard
with a sabre in each hand.
The monk was gone soon after, but Tao Wu Shu,
as the blunt-spoken Taoist proved to be called, hung
around. Gui Hua developed a healthy aversion to
him, especially after an incident in which the Taoist
interrupted one of her songs by shouting out to her
to wriggle like a snake, and she promptly obliged.
She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened there,
but she resolved to get her hands on some protective
talismans as soon as she could find a reputable
seller.
Over the course of the next few days, Zhao
increasingly came to curse the day he had passed
through the Golden Idol gate into the town. It
wasn’t just the realisation that something very
nasty was going on at the yamen. Everything
seemed to conspire to make his life a misery. There
were increasing reports of strange sightings. A pig’s
head on the butcher’s block was said to have spoken
to the terrified apprentice. ‘Something’ at the
bottom of a well had turned a young man’s hair grey.
And the final straw was the face that bulged out of
the wall of Zhao’s own room at the hotel, fixing him
with watery eyes and demanding ‘When? When?’.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was the problem
of the Taoist. He seemed to have no idea of how to
behave in public. He went through bizarre mood
swings, occasionally seizing on complete strangers
and demanding whether they knew of the location
of a Taoist icon. When someone mentioned the
name of the gate by which he had entered the city,
he rushed out there, and started climbing the gate to
try to obtain the golden idol, to the amusement of
the gate guards. When he fell to the ground, and
picked himself up, dusty and
bruised, the gate guard helpfully
pointed out that the golden idol
hadn’t been in the gate for
centuries. Tao stared
malevolently at the guard for a
full 30 seconds before stalking
wordlessly off.
The only fortuitous event was
the discovery that one of the
wealthiest inhabitants of Jinfang,
Magnate Lu, was a good friend of
Lu Ban, the Mandarin who had
helped Zhao’s family, until his
support for Wang Anshi’s
reformers had led to his early
retirement. Lu’s son was being
tutored by Scholar Zhang, a
Gui Hua’s portrait of Moonface
Tales of Moonlight 3

former Academician, and this gave Zhao the idea
that he might engage Zhang to tutor also his
nephew.
Oh, and there was also that small matter of the
potential silk supply to be gained from the silk
weavers of Jun County. Apart from that, though, it
was bad and getting worse.
Tao Wu Shu, ever erratic, finally allowed his quest
for Taoist icons to take him to the magistrate.
Twisted Grass was well known as a collector of
curiosities, especially religious ones. He welcomed
Tao with uncharacteristic conviviality, even taking
the extraordinary step of inviting the Taoist to stay
in one of the guest rooms of his official residence. It
proved a fatal mistake.
Exactly what happened the next morning isn’t
clear, for a number of reasons connected with later
events and court cases. A friend of the wife of one of
the constables who was present had the following
tale to tell. By this account Magistrate Xiong and
Tao Wu Shu took breakfast together, and seemed in
good spirits, continuing a discussion of relics which
they had apparently been having the night before.
As they munched on their oil cakes, however, the
conversation took a different turn, to the
philosophies underlying the relics. The magistrate
quoted a little from Confucius, and this seemed to
have a disconcerting effect on the Taoist. His good-
natured banter gave way to a repudiation of
Confucius so bitter that the Magistrate too lost his
temper. He had barely started on a criticism of the
irresponsibility of the Taoist masters, however,
when Tao leapt to his feet and, grabbing hold of
Xiong’s neck, rammed his chopsticks up the
magistrate’s nostrils.
I cannot imagine that there have been many more
weighty pauses than the one during which Xiong
Kun Ling’s lifeless body slid off his chair and to the
floor. At the end of it the surprised constables
mastered themselves and dived at the Taoist, finally
managing to restrain the raving priest and drag him
to a cell.
This story, for all its outré elements,
has the ring of truth. For some
reason this dastardly murder was
later blamed on another, and the
constable’s official story
accommodated that change.
There is one detail missing from
this account that I must confess I
would like to know. That is,
whether Tao Wu Shu met Black
Hou while he was within the
yamen. If he did, I wonder what
passed between them?
I am getting ahead of myself, as usual. Always
scrabbling for the higher branches when I should be
working my way up steadily.
While Tao Wu Shu had been paying his fateful
visit to the magistrate, Merchant Zhao and Gui
Hua had been enjoying the hospitality of Li Jin Lao
in a village half a day’s ride to the north of the town.
As well as viewing the rather appealing silk of the
area, and observing the preparations for the
imminent Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, they had
spoken to Cai Shou’s family. It was evident to any
who cared to look that this was not a family of
fiends. When they said that Shou had been with
them on the night of the murder, you could be sure
that he had been. Zhao didn’t even need to see the
evidence of the burnt outhouse to be convinced of
Cai Shou’s innocence. So why had he confessed? By
all accounts there was no sign of torture on him
when he admitted the murder in open court.
Zhao resolved to find out. He had realised that his
hopes of returning home for the Hungry Ghosts
Festival were pointless. He would be stuck in
Jinfang for at least another couple of days. He had to
visit Cai Shou.
It took the better part of the next day to make the
arrangements. He would be bringing food in from
Cai’s family, and would have a chance to see and
speak to the young man.
Gui Hua managed to talk herself along. She was
curious to see the accused farmer. Whether from a
fierce devotion to see an injustice righted, or from
the frisson that comes from meeting the very evil,
we cannot say for sure. In the company of Zhao Yu
and his three retainers, she found herself in the
dingy gaol, peering into the cells to try to find Cai
Shou. Imagine her surprise when a familiar insolent,
if a little bleary, glare greeted her. Tao Wu Shou was
exhausted, but as rude as ever. Gui Hua quickly
moved on.
It all started to go wrong when the jailer
disappeared. A few moments earlier he had been in
the guard room, but now he refused
to respond. Zhao sent Deng along
to fetch him, and soon there was
no sign of Deng, too.
Zhao didn’t realise that he had
arrived in the yamen just as Black
Hou put into motion his plan, a
crime to dwarf Tao Wu Shu’s little
act of random violence. He reacted
with blank amazement, then, when
shambling towards him down the
corridor came the desiccated
remains of a man, leering at him
from sunken eye sockets, and
stretching out claw-like fingers for
his throat...
Tao Wu Shu
Tales of Moonlight 4


How impoverished my manners are. Here I have
been regaling you with these improbable stories of
goings on in the town of Jinfang, and I have not
even had the decency to introduce myself. I will
rectify my fault forthwith.
The worthless peasant who so impertinently
presents himself to you is a disgrace to the family
name of Gai. His longsuffering ancestors no doubt
daily rue the day that one of this line with the
personal name of Long was inflicted upon a virtuous
and overly-indulgent mother.
By profession, as such a wise and perceptive (and
no doubt also generous) audience as your good
selves will have noted, this Gai Long suffers from
the delusion that he can entertain the public at large
by the telling of stories. The threadbare nature of
his clothing, and the entirely underplump concavity
of his belly are perhaps the most eloquent
testimony to his fitness for this calling, but he
nevertheless persists.
Why? I hear you (with admirable timing) enquire.
What is there in these stories that will benefit us?
I fear, not being one of those charlatans in the
marketplace who sells good luck charms (from
which category I exclude, of course, the estimable
Hua Ying, whose talismans are most efficacious), I
am loath to make sweeping claims regarding any
benefit that may or may not accrue from any stories
I present you with. Such claims, like the waste
materials disposed of upstream by the household
living downstream, have a habit of returning to
one’s profound regret and discomfort.
I will say, however, that the stories I relate have
the signal distinction of being true. While many of
the marketplace tales you have no doubt heard,
such as those of that inveterate swindler and
monkey-tormenter Wang, are deliberately
constructed in order to make some moral point, or
perhaps hammer home some slender witticism, my
own make no such claims. Rather I make it my
business to relate simply and accurately (where
possible) the true details of events. If there is
something to be learned from them, some moral
point to be understood, or even some morsel of
humour to whet the palate of your emotions, then I
leave it to your marvellous discernment to extract
it.
When I last spoke, I rather impolitely left just as
Zhao Yu had come face-to-face with one of the
denizens of the Otherworld: the shambling remains
of some wretched individual, gone who knows how
many years, and now brought back to walk, of all
places, the corridors of the Magistrate’s yamen. In
hastening on to this moment of tension there were
several other points which I had forgotten to tell you,
even though they have a bearing on later events.
When Zhao Yu and his little party entered the
yamen that day, they did so in the company of a
number of others. One group was that of a carpet
merchant by the name of Tong, whose carpets must
have been of surpassing quality judging by the
number of burly clerks, runners and attendants
surrounding his person. Also in the queue to see the
Magistrate or his flunkeys was a medicine pedlar
whom Zhao had met and chatted to earlier. Like
many of his profession, this pedlar attracted custom
with a display of martial prowess, twirling his staff
and leaping about with shouts and yells. Quite what
this had to do with patent medicines was anybody’s
guess, but it kept the crowds amused.
Zhao had bought some of the man’s medicine, for
he had been feeling under the weather for a while,
and the ghostly apparition that had appeared on the
wall of his hotel room hadn’t helped matters. When
questioned about where the medicine came from,
the pedlar was typically tight-lipped. It was hard to
tell whether the medicine did any good or not, but
for various reasons that will soon become evident, I
doubt it.
These people shouldn’t have been let into the
yamen, of course. The Magistrate was dead, slain, as I
have previously claimed, in a fit of pique by Tao Wu
Shu. For some reason, however, the news of the
Magistrate’s death had been suppressed, and those
who had business at the yamen were nevertheless
allowed in. A sheepish-looking Assistant Magistrate
handled the legal cases, while the clerks and other
administrative personnel went about their business
more or less as usual. Quite improper, of course, but
there was a reason for it all, and that reason was what
Zhao Yu came face to face with in that narrow jail
corridor.
Zhao Yu’s opponent
in the yamen
Tales of Moonlight 5

What do you do when some monstrosity from the
grey plains reaches out a clammy hand for you? No
doubt this thought loomed large in Zhao Yu’s mind.
Sad to say, however, a satisfyingly exact answer did
not occur to him. Instead he attempted to ward the
thing off. As its hand grasped his arm, a cold jolt ran
through his body, and he began to feel that he was
being pulled, as if by some improbably icy
quicksand.
The grasp was quickly broken, however.
‘Back where you came from!’ said Tao Wu Shu
from behind the bars of his cell. His voice rang with
authority, and Gui Hua, the singing girl, noticed
with distaste the same glint in his eyes she had last
seen when she had felt a strange compulsion to
‘wriggle like a snake’. But this order was not
directed at her. The apparition, with surprising
celerity, turned and retreated down the corridor.
Tao Wu Shu sagged against the bars of his cell.
He really did look exhausted. Gui Hua turned to
Zhao Yu; though his arm still bore the numbing
sting of that creature’s foetid touch, she knew that
he had been spared a worse fate. In order to free Tao
she would have to follow the creature’s retreat, to
the guardroom. As that was the only way out, she
braved it, tiptoeing like a child stealing loquats. To
her heartfelt relief, the room was empty, and the
keys to the cells were in place on the wall. There
was even a sword conveniently abandoned, which
she picked up to give to Zhao.
Tao Wu Shu was quickly released. He didn’t seem
able to explain what was going on, and didn’t look
in any condition to repeat his performance with the
creature earlier. The only other occupant of the cells,
Cai Shou the farmer, was also found and freed.
Seeing the strapping young farm boy, Zhao Yu
handed him the sword. Eyeing it dubiously, Cai
politely refused, but Zhao Yu insisted. If nothing
else it was a gesture of faith that this boy was not a
crazed murderer. It also kept the sword out of Tao
Wu Shu’s hands…
Out in the main courtyard of the yamen a fearful
scene presented itself before them. The
Otherworldly creature which had reached out for
Zhao Yu was not alone. Several of them were
shambling around, chasing clerks and other
unfortunates. One poor scribe was too slow to
escape, and he squealed pitifully as his shape
became indistinct, like ripples on a pool, before
finally vanishing altogether. On the far side of the
courtyard a battle raged as the employees of Tong
the carpet merchant fought against a surrounding
mob of dead things. Tong’s men seemed to have got
weapons from somewhere, and were putting up a
good fight. The medicine pedlar was fighting with
them, his leaps and shouts no longer mere
entertainment. A long, slender blade in his hands
streaked back and forth, hacking limbs off the
advancing corpses, and they seemed to have the
good sense to avoid him.
Zhao Yu hadn’t reached 67 years of age without a
highly developed sense for self-preservation.
‘Get the gate open!’ he hissed. Before the dead
things could block their path, he and his group
rushed for the gate. As the creatures turned,
distracted, the medicine pedlar too seized his
chance and leapt for the gate himself.
The gate of a yamen is a heavy wooden thing, but
I’ll wager the mat upon which I sit that none has
ever been opened as rapidly as that one.
Unfortunately, the hope that had fuelled such
exertions was quickly dashed. Beyond the gate,
rather than the Jinfang square, was an altogether
too dusty and grey vista, above which a black sky
brooded improbably low. Details were hard to make
out, as what light there was seemed to hang heavy
and reluctant in the very air, but the shapes of
shambling figures could be made out around the
edges of a pit, from which desperate moans could be
heard.
Zhao Yu recoiled in disgust, but a faint voice from
the pit reached his ears.
‘Zhao Yu! Zhao Yu!’ It was Deng, his retainer. As
he made his decision, Gui Hua and the medicine
pedlar too passed through the gate, into the grey
Otherworld. Behind them strolled Tao Wu Shu,
seemingly oblivious to both to the extremity of the
situation and the revenants heading towards him.
As they approached the pit they started to realise
that they had misjudged the distance. In fact, they
seemed to have misjudged the direction, too, for
they found themselves heading off into nowhere.
More surprising was that the erratic Taoist had
somehow contrived to pass them. As they redirected
themselves at the pit, they caught sight of another
structure looming behind it. A few paces seemed to
The
medicine
pedlar
Tales of Moonlight 6

bring it clearly into focus: a pyramid of skulls, atop
which an unkempt figure sat, apparently holding a
bottle gourd. If there was a source for this madness,
this was it.
The hunch seemed proved as Gui Hua and the
medicine pedlar changed direction and headed for
the pyramid. The dead things around the pit, which
had not seemed to care too much about their
presence, now sprung to life and shambled towards
them. As they approached Gui Hua, they seemed
repelled, as if by a stench worse than their own.
Could those talismans bought in the market place
to protect against Tao Wu Shu be useful against
ghosts too? It seemed so. The medicine pedlar,
meanwhile, was hacking and slashing like a mad
thing, slicing rotting limbs left and right. The figure
on the pyramid sat oblivious, and as they neared the
base, they could hear his chant, an unnerving,
unwavering drone.
Then a figure appeared beside Gui Hua. It was
Tao Wu Shu, a spark of renewed energy in his eyes
‘He has a relic!’ he cried, pointing at the bottle
gourd. Gui Hua wasn’t sure that Tao’s interest
stemmed from a desire to save the day, but it was
useful nevertheless.
‘Get the gourd!’ she shouted to the medicine
pedlar, and whether he heard her or not, he set his
sights on the top of the pyramid, and fought on.
Meanwhile, back at the pit, Zhao Yu was faced
with a half dozen dead creatures. Although three of
them seemed to be staring after the medicine pedlar,
and turned to shamble after them, the situation still
looked grim. Zhao Yu started to dance. Well, he
later referred to it as a dance, but I am doubtful as to
whether a more expert judge of such matters (Gui
Hua for example) would have recognised it as such.
In any case, he lurched first one way and then the
next. He had been hoping for assistance from Cai
Zhou, but the farm boy seemed to have been
trapped back in the yamen courtyard. So he
continued to dance. As he did so, the strangest
thing happened. The more erratic his lurching
became, the more difficult it was for the dead
creatures to approach. Indeed, he suddenly found
himself on the far side of the pit, and was able to
help his retainers out of the pit as the dead things
shambled round to him. His dance then started
again, as his retainers started to help free the other
captives. It was not an easy job, as the experience of
being sucked bodily into the Otherworld had
drained much of their strength. But with the dead
creatures hopelessly confused by the old man’s
gyrations, they made good progress.
On top of the pyramid, meanwhile, Black Hou,
personal assistant to the late Magistrate of Jinfang,
continued his chant. According to one story I have
heard, his eyeballs turned glassy black and revolved
in their sockets. I know this to be a ridiculous
elaboration by someone who wasn’t present,
however, for how could you see eyeballs revolving if
they were black? No, it was Hou’s heart that was
black, not his eyes.
Such fancies are, in any case, unnecessary. For me
it suffices that Black Hou was sitting on the top of a
pyramid of skulls, having conjured a rift between
this world and the next, and that having deployed
his evil minions to round up a number of …
sacrifices? … he was in the process of something
even more despicable.
The medicine pedlar, who I’m sure you realise to
be something of a hero, had run into a problem. As
he fought off the last revenant, and prepared to
climb the pyramid, the skulls upon which he stood
jumped up and fastened their brownish teeth upon
him.
Black Hou’s chant shifted up a pitch, and Gui
Hua joined in the frantic attempts to dislodge the
skulls from the pedlar’s anatomy. Luckily her
talismans seemed to be of use here, as by touching
them to the skulls she could make them fall away
inert. But doing so consumed the talismans, and
she only had a few left. How many skulls were there
in a pyramid? How could it be climbed?
Tao Wu Shu did not apparently ponder this
question. He ambled up as if on a country walk, and
picked up one of the fallen skulls. Staring into its
empty sockets, a twisted smile crossed his face.
Then, turning, he launched it into the air.
A tumbling arc of bone it flew, seeming to speed
as it went, until it tumbled out of the gathering
gloom onto the bottle gourd cradled in Black Hou’s
lap.
The chant stopped abruptly. The gourd wobbled
and rolled, and suddenly there was no Black Hou on
top of the pyramid. There was just a gourd.
Next instant, with its binding force gone, the
pyramid collapsed upon itself, skulls bouncing in all
Black Hou
Tales of Moonlight 7

directions. Dodging the falling skulls, the medicine
pedlar rushed back to the pit and helped Zhao Yu
shepherd the former sacrifices back to the gate. Tao
Wu Shu had other ideas, however. He dived among
the skulls and started rummaging around. Gui Hua
moved to the far end and imitated him.
By the time the sacrifices were back through the
gate, it was clear that the rift was closing. The
medicine pedlar stood by a closing gap and yelled at
Gui Hua and the Taoist, but to no avail. Shrugging
his shoulders he stepped back into the yamen
courtyard.
It was Gui Hua who found the gourd. Hefting it
with a yell, she started to run towards the now
rapidly closing portal, with Tao Wu Shu in hot
pursuit. It was three feet across when she jumped
through, and shrinking faster than ever. Tao Wu
Shu dived through a two-foot hole, which then
sealed itself.
The view through the gates was now the square in
front of the yamen. Across the square, An Pan the
bun seller was wheeling his stall slowly toward the
gate.
Tao Wu Shu looked up from where he had landed
in a heap.
‘Here’s your relic,’ said Gui Hua, looking down at
him, and passing him the gourd. Tao clutched it to
his chest and sunk back to the ground.
The only corpses remaining in the yamen courtyard
were now reassuringly immobile. Tong the carpet
merchant surveyed the tattered remnants of his
bodyguard, and was relieved to see that Rui the
Eagle, his best fighter, had made it back through the
gate. Apart from him, the only people left in the
courtyard were the old man, his retainers, the
farmer lad clutching a sword, the singing girl, and a
heap on the floor that was apparently the Taoist. It
was time to take control.
He ordered his men to secure the area, and check
the buildings for more survivors. The Assistant
Magistrate promptly emerged, though he wouldn't
reveal where he had been hiding. Not an assertive
man at the best of times, the current situation
brought out the worst in him and he quickly caved
in beneath Tong’s browbeating.
There was one obstacle, however. Gui Hua had
taken a dislike to the way Tong was ordering people
around, as if he were something more than just a
carpet merchant.
‘Tong? Sounds like a pig’s name, if you ask me,’
she said sniffily.
Tong didn’t have time to waste. He could only
lose face by trading insults with a singing girl. He
turned to Rui.
‘Kill her.’

When last I sat before you on this, my old, ragged,
Storyteller’s mat, I told you the surprising story of
how a magistrate’s assistant by the name of Black
Hou hatched a devilish scheme to advance himself
in his mastery of the occult arts. Trapping the
occupants of the yamen by placing a portal to the
Otherworld at its gate, he commanded the hungry
ghosts who are let out of Hell every year for the
Hungry Ghosts festival. They were to drag all the
mortals in the yamen back with them into the
Otherworld.
Black Hou’s scheme, as I understand it, was
inspired by the bottle gourd that had come into his
possession. The gourd, a Taoist relic, was capable of
sucking human lives into it. It would enable one
skilled in the Taoist arts to harness the qi of those
imprisoned within it. By all accounts, the gourd’s
original purpose was somewhat more benevolent.
The use which Black Hou had found for it was to
draw into it at one go all the captured occupants of
the yamen, and with the power thus released to
imbue himself with the ability to transcend the
barriers of existence. He would have become able to
flit easily between the realms of Heaven, Earth and
Mankind, going wherever he pleased, doing
whatever he cared to do.
Unfortunately for him, among those trapped
within the yamen that day were Zhao Yu and his
travelling companions. Black Hou no doubt felt safe,
seated atop his pyramid of skulls, chanting the spell
which maintained control of the hungry ghosts and
kept the portal open. No one could ascend the
pyramid, for the skulls would assault anyone who
tried. Arrows, too, posed little threat, for the strange
distortions of the Otherworld would surely lead
astray any missile of the Mortal World.
Ignorant of these matters, however, Zhao Yu set
about releasing the captives. Meanwhile Tao Wu
Shu, a rival Taoist, taking one of the skulls that had
been enervated by Gui Hua’s talismans, lobbed it at
Black Hou. Luck was with him. A thing of that
Realm, it flew straight, and not only knocked the
gourd from Black Hou’s hands, but turned the
opening of the gourd upon its owner. Black Hou was
sucked within, and that was that.
Back in the yamen courtyard, however, a new
problem arose. An alleged carpet merchant by the
name of Tong was busy brow-beating the yamen
staff. His task was hardly a difficult one. The
Assistant Magistrate was weak-willed. The
constables were either dead or exhausted from being
dragged into the Otherworld by ghosts. And Tong
was supported by a number of tough-looking ‘clerks’
and ‘porters’, all armed, in addition to the obviously
highly talented Rui, a medicine pedlar who had
Tales of Moonlight 8

assisted in the attack on Black Hou.
Gui Hua rather unwisely attempted to argue
against Tong’s assumption of power. Tong’s
response was swift. Turning to the medicine pedlar,
he ordered him to kill Gui Hua.
Tong the ‘Carpet Merchant’
Rui’s face fell. Hefting his sword, he advanced on
Gui Hua, mouthing the words: ‘I’m sorry.’
His blow never landed. A black shape fell out of
nowhere, right on top of him. Gui Hua didn’t pause
to see what had happened, but turned and ran.
Zhao Yu had seen it all, though. Tao Wu Shu had
pointed the gourd in the direction of Rui, and
muttered an incantation. The black shape that
emerged, flew through the air and knocked over the
medicine pedlar was none
other than Black Hou. Picking
himself up, he scanned the
courtyard, alighting on Tao
Wu Shu, apparently
nonplussed by his failure to
harness the power of the
gourd in quite the manner
intended.
‘I’ll have my gourd back,
thank you!’ rasped Black Hou.
Tao started to say
something, but broke off as he
realised his opponent was
charging at him, chanting as
he came. ‘Hah!’ he spat out,
reaching for one of the twin
sabres on his back.
He was still grasping for the
non-existent sabre when Black
Hou crashed into him. The
two tumbled over in the
courtyard dust, scrabbling after the gourd.
While all this was going on, Gui Hua had rejoined
Zhao Yu and his retainer, and they edged their way
to the yamen gate. Just outside stood An Pan the
bun seller, peering through the gate at the strange
spectacle within.
‘Here’s a silver ingot for all your buns!’ cried Zhao.
An Pan quickly obliged.
Passing a handful of buns to his retainer, and to
Gui Hua, Zhao Yu started to hurl a rain of buns
upon Black Hou. But it was too late. As they
scrabbled in the dust, Black Hou’s hand briefly
brushed the gourd and the next instant it wasn’t
there.
Pausing only to laugh in the face of Tao Wu Shu,
Black Hou leapt to his feet and, dodging the hail of
buns, made for the gate. Rather than suffer the
same fate as Tao Wu Shu, Zhao Yu’s little band of
bun-throwers hurriedly pulled back on either side of
the gate. To their surprise, Black Hou didn’t stop to
attack them but carried on across the square,
slowing down after a while, when a glance to his
rear confirmed that he wasn’t being pursued.
Then they noticed another figure lurking in the
mouth of an alley on the opposite side of the square.
A figure with a round, moon-shaped face, especially
clear to Gui Hua, who had drawn twenty copies of a
portrait for use on wanted posters. At last, they had
gained confirmation that the murderous attack on
the scholar, which had led to them banding together
in the first place, was related to all this supernatural
shenanigans.
Moonface bowed slightly to Black Hou, as a
student to his master, and the two disappeared
down the alley.
Bunfight at the Jinfang yamen
Tales of Moonlight 9

Back in the yamen courtyard, Rui the Eagle was in a
foul mood. It was bad enough that his boss had
ordered him to kill the singing girl. But to be shown
up in front of everybody by being jumped by the
villain (though how, he wasn’t quite sure)—that was
too much to bear. The villain in question had made
his escape, but the other Taoist, who seemed to have
something to do with it, he was still there.
Rui the Eagle was not a man to be slighted. As he
had demonstrated in a sparring match with Zhao
Yu’s bodyguard Teng Ai, he had the sort of mastery
of the sword that enables the total control of a lesser
skilled warrior. The legendary swordsman Zhang
Zhong had trained him, and it showed. Tao Wu
Shu didn’t have a chance.
It just wasn’t Rui’s day. He closed on Tao Wu Shu,
the latter standing muttering furiously to himself.
At the last moment, it seemed, the Taoist became
aware of Rui’s intent. Staring him full in the eyes,
with a voice of malevolent fury made sound he said:
‘Kill yourself!’
It isn’t easy to kill yourself with a longsword, but
Rui made a good stab at it. A look of blank horror
gripped his face as he reversed his blade and ran it
into his own belly. Tao turned, and stalked off.
Even Tong, who had seen some things in his time,
watched the Taoist walk off with stark fear. It didn’t
even occur to him to tell his men to give chase.
Thus ended the day’s business in the yamen. Zhao
Yu had by now resolved to get out of town as quickly
as possible; Gui Hua had resolved to rid the town of
Black Hou; Tong the Carpet Merchant had resolved
to be very careful in dealing with Taoists; and Tao
Wu Shu? What had he resolved? I daren’t imagine.

After foiling Black Hou’s plot to sacrifice the
inhabitants of the Jinfang yamen, Merchant Zhao
just wanted to get out of the accursed town, and
make his way back to his home in Huainan. Gui
Hua persuaded him against it. Tong the carpet
merchant had seized control of the town, and Black
Hou was on the loose.
‘What can I do?’ Zhao asked her. ‘I’m just an old
man.’ But Gui Hua insisted. He had, after all, saved
a lot of people from Black Hou. What was more,
there was the matter of Cai Shou. It now seemed
clearer than ever that the murder which had led to
them all getting involved in the affairs of this town
was something to do with Black Hou.
Truly it is said: save a man’s life, and he is your
responsibility as long as you live. Zhao Yu had
saved the life of Scholar Li, and now the obligations
incurred by this act seemed to be settling around his
neck like the cangue on a felon.
With obvious reluctance, Zhao returned to the
residence of Magnate Lu, and obtained an
introduction to Major Tan. It was Tan’s daughter
who had been murdered, and the murder pinned on
the innocent farmer Cai Shou. If Cai Shou was truly
to be exonerated, then the real murderer had to be
found. With the town in disarray, and Tong in
control of the yamen, the matter could hardly be
left to the authorities.
Major Tan’s mansion stood along the south wall of
town, close by the South Gate, not far from
Magnate Lu’s residence. The Major had clearly
made quite a success of his military career. The wall
around his mansion compound was tall and well
kept. The sign above his gate gleamed brightly.
When Zhao, Gui Hua, Teng Ai and a still pale and
exhausted Tao Wu Shu presented themselves at the
gate, they were met by a major domo with
manners—and supercilious expression—more
appropriate to the capital than to a small district in
West Jingdong. Tan must have had a successful
career indeed to have retired in such style.
When the major domo returned from conveying
Magnate Lu’s introduction to his master, he had
undergone a transformation. Zhao and his little
party were now ushered within with all due
ceremony and attentiveness. While by no means as
opulent as Magnate Lu’s residence, the interior of
Major Tan’s mansion matched its impressive
exterior. The major domo ushered them into a large
chamber, gorgeously appointed with elaborately
carved wooden furniture. The walls were decorated
with battle scenes, presumably from the border
clashes with the forces of Western Xia in which
Major Tan must have seen service.
The old soldier himself showed every sign of
revelling in his retirement. He stood to welcome his
guests before seating himself at the head of the
room in the manner of a provincial governor. His
punctilious major domo seated the guests paying
careful attention to their apparent prestige, and
wrinkled his brows with distaste when Tao Wu Shu
shuffled his chair forward a little.
Major Tan’s undyed mourning clothes were by no
means the poorest garments Zhao Yu had ever seen.
Nevertheless, as Zhao Yu opened the conversation
by expressing his condolences on Major Tan’s loss,
the old soldier showed every sign of distress. The
major domo had returned with tea for all, and in
amongst the formalities, both Zhao and Gui Hua
were able to complement Tan on the quality of his
tea with heartfelt honesty.
When Zhao Yu tried to explain to him about
Black Hou, however, the Major banged the table in
anger.
‘I was at the trial! It was that damn peasant—the
scoundrel had been chasing my daughter, and,
Tales of Moonlight 10

knowing that I wouldn’t tolerate it further, did away
with her! The wretched eater of dirt confessed in
open court!’
‘We believe that the confession may have been
obtained by sorcery,’ said Zhao.
‘Sorcery? Mumbo-jumbo! You don’t expect me,
an educated man, to believe all that nonsense? As
Confucius himself said: “Worship the gods, but
keep them at a distance.” The same is...’
‘Confucius was a...’ Tao Wu Shu started to growl,
but Zhao Yu had anticipated the danger and
interjected:
‘We can offer you proof!’
The proof in question turned out to be Tao Wu
Shu. According to Zhao Yu, Tao would perform the
same magic on Major Tan’s major domo.
Tao stood up and started gabbling mystic phrases.
His brows knit tightly, and he clasped his hands
together, index fingers outstretched, pointing wildly
around the room. Major Tan smirked indulgently.
Tao’s fingers shook and then, with a jerk, were
still. ‘I can’t draw the power through from the
Otherworld,’ he said, quietly.
Major Tan harrumphed.
‘I don’t seem to have enough vital energy,’ said
the deflated Taoist. ‘Someone will have to volunteer
to give me theirs.’
His gaze swept around the room, alighting on Gui
Hua. She looked at him as if he were mad, but Zhao
Yu hissed ‘Do as he says, otherwise we don’t have a
chance of persuading Tan.’
Tao Wu Shu placed his palm on Gui Hua’s
forehead. ‘You must allow me to take your
vital energy...’ he said.
‘How do I do th...?’ said Gui Hua,
stopping in mid-exclamation. It seemed
she had felt something. For a brief moment
a particularly unpleasant smile flickered
across Tao Wu Shu’s features, then
disappeared as his weariness reasserted
itself.
When he withdrew his hand from Gui
Hua’s forehead, he went back to his
muttering and gesturing. This time there
seemed to be a more confident timbre to
his voice. The major domo maintained the
same supercilious expression as Tao
stepped up, fixed him in the eyes and said:
‘Confess that you are a murderer!’
There was a frozen pause.
‘Why ever would I do such a thing?’ said
the major domo.
To give him credit, Zhao Yu made a brave
attempt to overcome his embarrassment in
front of Major Tan. Apologising for his own
credulity, he quickly changed the subject,
advising the Major of how Tong had taken
over the yamen. This caught Tan’s attention.
‘I always said that Assistant Magistrate was a
weakling, and I’ve no doubt the Sheriff was off
gallivanting around some village or other, as usual.
Well, in such circumstances it is up to us upright
citizens to do something. I will investigate the
situation myself, and if necessary send a man to
alert the Prefect in Danzhou.’
Thanking Tan for his hospitality, Zhao made his
excuses. As the major domo conducted the little
group out of the hall and in to the courtyard, Gui
Hua was surprised to see a face regarding her
curiously from behind a pillar. Seeing that Major
Tan had already retired, she detached herself from
the group and sidled closer. She had heard that
Major Tan had one other child, but people seemed
to be reticent to speak about the matter.
As she approached, the face grinned at her with
utter innocence, and yet Gui Hua quickly realised
that it belonged to no child, but a youth. As the
major domo noticed her and called out she was
already turning and hurrying back to the gate.
There was little conversation as the group
returned to their place of lodging, the Seven Lotus
Hotel. Tao Wu Shu, wan of face, and slouching
along as if dragging a lead tortoise, was
understandably reluctant to discuss his failure, and
Zhao Yu was clearly bottling up some emotion. Gui
Hua, however, was thoughtful.
The next day the singing girl paid a visit alone to
Major Tan. Despite the problems of protocol, she
Gui Hua pays another visit to Major Tan
Tales of Moonlight 11

managed to manoeuvre her way past the major
domo, perhaps with her expansive knowledge of fine
tea.
Major Tan was, understandably, a little thrown
off balance by the visit. Today he was not wearing
mourning. Gui Hua made no mention of the
supernatural, instead inquiring gently about the
Major’s children. In the course of this conversation
she learned the secret of Tan’s ‘simple’ son, and
through flattery, even managed to snatch a few
words with the lad. Unfortunately, as Tan had
warned her, his son was touched in the head. Gui
Hua asked him about the night of the murder, a
night on which Miss Tan had somehow been
spirited from the mansion and out of the city.
Although he seemed to understand the question,
Gui Hua could make no sense of the replies. Then
he fixed her with a quizzical look, wiggled his
fingers, and repeated: ‘Scaly scaly!’
The words turned over in her mind as she
returned once more to the Seven Lotuses.
‘Scaly scaly’

Here I am once more, Gai Long, the itinerant
storyteller, to recount for you a tale woven from the
threads of human lives. If truth be told, it is a
strange fabric to be sure, made up as it is here of silk,
here of hemp, and still here of some coarse string
that perhaps once saw life upon the back of a
recalcitrant donkey.
Such, however, as all the great Sages of the past
will tell, is the nature of life. For did not Lao Zi
himself write:
‘When the whole uncarved block is divided,
The pieces become instruments and in need of
their names.
When there are already many names,
It is also necessary to know their limitations.’
Gui Hua had persuaded Zhao Yu that they ought to
do all they could to find and capture Black Hou. Her
main argument was fear. As long as Black Hou was
on the loose, and knew who they were, they
couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t come after them. As
had been demonstrated by the murderous attack on
the Scholar Li Jin Lao, Black Hou was quite
prepared to send his minions out on evil business if
he felt his plot was being threatened. The only way
to feel safe from Black Hou’s revenge was to see
justice done as soon as possible.
Zhao Yu, rather half-heartedly, suggested that
justice was the responsibility of the authorities. It
was obvious even as he said it that he knew Gui
Hua’s response: that the authorities were hardly
likely to be able to do very much when Jinfang’s
yamen had been taken over by Tong the Carpet
Merchant. Furthermore, as the discussion with
Major Tan had demonstrated, persuading people of
the danger of Black Hou’s sorcery presented
problems. While most people visited fortune-tellers,
and bought talismans to ward off evil, the idea that
the likes of Black Hou (and Tao Wu Shu, on a good
day) wielded such power over the spirits was just
too frightening for them to believe.
Already, rumours of the strange goings-on at the
yamen were spreading through the town, but it was
noticeable that for once the rumours understated
the case. Certainly, there was talk of ghosts (hardly
surprising, since tales of spectral visitations had
been common in recent weeks), but no mention was
made of pyramids of skulls. Those who had been
dragged through to the Otherworld by the ghosts
retained only a hazy, dreamlike memory of their
ordeal, which they seemed eager to forget. Only
Zhao, Gui Hua, Tao Wu Shu and Rui the Eagle
were direct witnesses of Black Hou’s crimes.
After his embarrassing failure at Major Tan’s,
Tao Wu Shu had disappeared. Rui the Eagle, as far
as anyone knew, was either dead or severely injured.
That left Zhao and Gui Hua.
Already impressed with the efficacy of the talismans
sold by Zhang in the market place, Gui Hua
returned there to consult him again. This time she
wanted more than mere talismans. She wanted
someone who could match Black Hou, spell for spell.
Someone who was a bit more reliable than Tao Wu
Shu.
Who had taught Zhang how to write the
talismans by which he now made his living? A
hermit by the name of Ran the Deep River. Zhang
hadn’t seen his master in years, but a little
persuasion from Gui Hua elicited a letter of
introduction and rough directions to the hermit’s
haunt.
The next problem was how to visit him. Gui Hua
still wanted to enlist Major Tan’s assistance, and
hit upon a means of enlisting his co-operation. In
the course of the foul murder, Miss Tan’s heart had
been removed from her body and had never been
found. Gui Hua pointed out to Major Tan that with
her body incomplete in such a fundamental way,
Miss Tan would be suffering great discomfort in the
world beyond. A noted sage like Hermit Ran, she
argued, might be able to ascertain the location of
the heart.
Manipulated in this way, Tan rapidly seized on
the idea of an excursion to the hermit’s cave, and
went so far as to invite two of his friends, Qiu and
Wang, along for the trip. The little party assembled
on horseback just outside the north gate, and was
able to make good progress to the village indicated
by the talisman seller.
Tales of Moonlight 12

Actually, the main reason why Gui Hua had been
so keen to enlist the services of Major Tan was that
she was afraid of what Black Hou might do. As she
explained to Zhao, once they left the protective
walls of the town they would be vulnerable to
ambush from the sorcerer and Moonface. With Tao
Wu Shu gone there would only be Zhao’s bodyguard
Teng Ai to offer protection. With all due respect to
Teng Ai, he wasn’t by any means as good a
swordsman as the medicine pedlar, and look what
had happened to him.
Gui Hua’s nervousness became worse as they
entered the village which supposedly lay closest to
the hermit’s cave. The villagers looked to her to be a
suspicious and shifty lot, eyeing the riders from the
town with poorly-disguised animosity. Zhao
managed to quietly obtain directions to the hermit’s
hut, and the intelligence that Ran was occasionally
to be seen, though he never had dealings with the
villagers.
Following the indicated route up into the hills,
the party soon found it sensible to dismount. Teng
Ai was left to look after the horses as the others
picked their way further up the valley.
As promised, they came upon a rough hut,
leaning against a cliff wall. When Major Tan’s
peremptory calls of ‘Master Ran’ remained
unanswered, he shoved through the door, quickly
followed by Gui Hua. Inside was a plain room with
only a couple of mats on the floor and a rough low
table. Another room to the rear was accessible by a
curtained off doorway. More calls obtained no
response, and the Major pulled the curtain aside to
reveal a small, empty sleeping chamber.
‘You stay here with Wang,’ Tan told Zhao and
Gui Hua, ‘while I scout around with Qiu. Maybe
the old duffer is off meditating under a waterfall or
something.’
Although they were not happy at dividing their
forces, Tan’s tone admitted of no argument, so
Zhao and Gui Hua resigned themselves to the wait.
Strangely, however, after Tan had been gone for a
minute there was a sound from within the hut.
‘What is it that you want?’ enquired a surprisingly
youthful voice. Startled, they turned to see a
wrinkled, ancient face peering at them from the hut
entrance. Despite the decrepit state of its features,
this figure’s eyes sparkled with a youthful vigour.
‘Come in, come in.’
Tan and Qiu were nowhere to be seen. Master
Ran’s apparent materialisation out of thin air was
unnerving. Perhaps he was a xian, an immortal who
had transcended earthly restraints? This might
mean he had the power to help against Black Hou,
but immortals were notoriously reluctant to muddy
themselves with the mundane realities of the
Mortal World.
Once they were inside the hut, and Ran had sat
down on the other side of the table, Gui Hua
reverently handed over the letter of introduction,
using both hands to signal her respect.
‘We are sorry to bother you Master, but we have a
letter from your student Zhang.’
Ran took the letter, opened it and, after glancing
momentarily at its contents, tossed it onto the table
in front of him. Gui Hua noticed that the letter was
upside down.
‘Tell me about the matter for which you have
sought me,’ said Ran.
It all spilled out of Gui Hua then, with occasional
corrections from Zhao Yu. Perhaps, more than
anything, she just wanted to tell someone and be
believed. At her mention of Black Hou, Master Ran
had started.
‘You know of him?’ asked Gui Hua.
‘Er, slightly,’ replied the hermit.
At the end of her story, Ran paused briefly, then
announced:
‘I must meditate on this. Please wait outside.’ He
turned and shuffled through the curtain into the
rear chamber.
Shortly after, Major Tan returned with Qiu. On
learning that the hermit had turned up, he insisted
on seeing him at once. When his calls were
unanswered, he pushed into the hut, emerging a few
seconds later.
‘There’s no one there,’ he said glumly.
‘He went into the rear chamber to meditate,’
explained Zhao Yu.
‘I looked in the rear chamber, but it was empty,’
said Tan. ‘Are you sure he didn’t slip out?’
More than ever convinced of the hermit’s
Ran the Deep River
Tales of Moonlight 13

mystical powers, Zhao Yu persuaded Tan to wait a
while. A minute later Ran reappeared at the door,
and invited them back in. This time Tan insisted
on pushing in, so Wang had to wait outside.
‘I am Major Tan, former commander in the army
of General Peng. If you really are a man of
knowledge then tell me this: where is my daughter’s
heart?’
Ran fixed him with his ancient but youthful eyes.
‘Her heart was eaten by her murderer.’
Tan clenched his fists. ‘That wretched farm boy! I
should have carved him up myself!’
‘It wasn’t Cai Shou!’ interjected Gui Hua. ‘The
murderer was Black Hou, wasn’t it, Master Ran?’
Ran paused, then slowly replied. ‘Yes, the
murderer was Black Hou.’
Zhao Yu cut in, as Major Tan was dumbstruck.
‘Where can we find Black Hou?’
‘I cannot tell you where he is now, but I can tell
you that in exactly one week, at midnight on the
night of the dark of the moon, he will be in Jinfang,
to pay a visit to the House of the Perfumed Garden.’
‘How can we protect ourselves from his sorcery?
Should we buy talismans?’
‘Black Hou is too powerful: you should not wear
talismans, for he will turn their power against you.
Instead you may protect yourself by killing a
chicken at noon, mixing its blood with ash, and
daubing your skin with it. The, ah, house of
Chicken will enlist the Great Spirit of Bai Fu in your
defence.’ Ran’s head bowed. ‘Now please leave me,
for I am tired and wish to rest.’
Major Tan, his emotion coming in fits and moods,
thought of something else to ask Master Ran
shortly after leaving the hut. He plunged back in
again, only to emerge yet again, ashen-face.
‘Pulled his damn disappearing trick again.’
Back in Jinfang they took their leave of Major Tan.
The Major seemed downcast, and Gui Hua had
found it difficult to conceal her satisfaction at the
result of the visit to the hermit. Now they had
something positive to work on, and they could
prepare an ambush to catch the sorcerer unawares
and bring him to justice.
She hurried to the marketplace to offer her thanks
to the talisman seller, and told him what had
transpired. Zhang’s face paled at the mention of
Black Hou, and his brow creased at the news that
his talismans would not be required. When told of
the chicken blood-and-ash protection, he stroked
his chin.
‘I am aware that pig’s blood may have protective
properties, especially against certain animal spirits,
but I had never heard of chicken blood being of use.
I don’t recall Master Ran ever mentioning such
methods to me, but then I only ever acquired a tiny
fragment of his wisdom.’
Over the next week there were only a few
distractions from preparations. Zhao met and
talked with a strange southerner who had the air of
an official about him, but who seemed to be
searching for someone. The southerner left the
town on foot one day and never returned. His
abandoned horse was to prove useful later.
There was also a travelling physician to whom
they chatted about the state of the town. In a
lowered tone Zhao Yu advised him that the yamen
was in the hands of rogues, but that quite frankly
things didn’t seem to be much worse than usual.
Nevertheless he wondered whether the authorities
would do something. Presumably once Tong and
his cohorts had finished doing whatever it was they
were up to with the yamen they would leave, and if
they were to be captured the authorities would have
to act soon.
When Gui Hua demanded a treatment from the
physician for her stiff shoulders, he initially
narrowed his eyes at her. Then she waved a tael of
silver in front of him. With what appeared to be
some reluctance he finally agreed to treat her in her
room. Gui Hua was not impressed by his
ministrations. ‘That was the worst tael I ever
spent,’ she was later heard to complain.
The tael of silver was later returned to her,
though you’ll have to wait to find out how and why.
As the dark of the moon drew near, Zhao Yu
began to prepare the ambush. Major Tan had lost
the vigour with which he had started the trip to
Master Ran, but he agreed to join in. The House of
the Perfumed Garden lay on the southern bank of
the stream which flowed through Jinfang, directly
opposite an ill-tended pagoda. Following the
example of Zhuge Liang, famed strategist of the
Three Kingdoms, what he lacked in muscle, Zhao
Yu proposed to make up for with guile.
‘Master Ran’ hurried back along the tunnel. Black
Hou was waiting for him in the chamber with the
ancient stone sarcophagi, and would want to know
whether he had managed to fool the visitors. He had
already been subjected to a grilling when he had
mentioned the letter, and Black Hou had questioned
him in detail about what he did with it. Since he
was illiterate, he couldn’t say exactly, but he was
fairly sure that he hadn’t made a mistake. Black
Hou could be quite unforgiving.
As he entered the chamber, Black Hou emerged
from behind a sarcophagus. ‘Well, Lai? Do you
think they will go?’
‘I believe so, Master. Both the girl and the old
man seemed quite happy with what I said. And
there was a different fellow with them this time. It
was—‘
‘Major Tan. I know. What about the talismans?’
Snakeskin Lai covered his disappointment. He
never seemed to be able to surprise his Master. ‘I
told them exactly what you said, Master. And I
explained how the Great Spirit of Bai Fu would
protect them and—‘
‘Idiot!’ Black Hou slapped Lai’s scaly, prematurely
aged face with the back of his hand. ‘Never attempt
to improvise when it comes to occult matters! Ding
Kui may know a little, but you have no talent for it.
Stick to what you can do!’
Snakeskin Lai hung his head in shame, but
offered no defence. Ever since Black Hou had saved
his life ten years ago, when he was hardly more than
a wild animal, he had followed this mysterious little
man like a son. He had even been pleased when
Black Hou had suggested that his appalling skin
condition made him the ideal person to
impersonate Ran the Deep River. Ran was an
ancient hermit who had lived in the area. Lai
vaguely remembered the old fellow, who had treated
him very kindly, so he considered it a sign of respect
that he should keep the hermit’s name alive.
What Black Hou hadn’t told him was that Ran
the Deep River was Lai’s father: hence the
resemblance was closer than even Lai realised.
Black Hou had discovered the secret child whom
the eccentric Ran had allowed to grow up in the
wild and without family attachments, hoping
thereby to cultivate a man truly in tune with the
Tao. Befriending him by deception, he obtained
some of Lai’s blood and hair, with which he was
able to penetrate Ran’s occult defences and slay him.
The presence of Ran provided the perfect cover for
his hideaway.
Black Hou waited a while, to ensure that
Snakeskin suffered the full shame of his mistake,
before continuing: ‘Are you absolutely sure that the
Taoist wasn’t with them?’
‘He didn’t enter the hut, and he wasn’t waiting
outside when I looked. He might have returned
with Tan but waited outside.’
‘It seems unlikely. He didn’t strike me as the
bashful sort. Still, there were enough of them that
we couldn’t be certain of winning. It’s better this
way. The best traps are always those set for one who
thinks he is the hunter.’
‘Who said that, Master?’
‘I just did, cretin.’
Black Hou didn’t imagine it would be easy to slip
unnoticed into Jinfang. He also had to ensure that
Ding Kui, whose moon-like face adorned wanted
posters drawn by that wretched singing girl, got in
without drawing any attention to himself.
The three of them entered the town separately. In
the event it was much easier than they had
anticipated. The gate guards weren’t the regular
fellows. Indeed, although they wore the insignia,
they looked more like rogues of the rivers and lakes.
What was going on at the yamen? Black Hou
wondered. Was it something to do with that Taoist?
When he had first met Tao Wu Shu in the yamen,
he had wondered for a moment if ‘They’ had sent
someone after him. He quickly realised it wasn’t the
case. No one ‘They’ sent would just blunder right
into the yamen, and then fail to recognise him—fail
even to recognise a fellow sorcerer. His second
thought was that someone had traced the gourd,
and this seemed to have been borne out by Tao Wu
Shu’s behaviour in the Otherworld, though it still
didn’t explain why he should have murdered the
magistrate.
Even stranger to explain was that first encounter.
The man had tried to inveigle him with the Eyes of
the Snake. His first impulse was to fling the spell right
back, but some intuition made him instead pretend to
be ensnared, just to find out what Tao was after. He
was told to lead on to the magistrate’s private quarters
and, upon reaching it, to go in and kill the magistrate.
Pondering why this should be, he had entered the
magistrate’s room and waited for Tao Wu Shu to
follow up. A few minutes later, when he put his head
round the door to check, the peculiar Taoist was gone.
Tao Wu Shu was Black Hou’s main anxiety, even
though all the readings he had taken said that he
would not oppose Black Hou’s plans. The others
were just an annoyance. There was, however, a
strange poem that had come up when he tried
1A\66 Oi HOO×\í081. í×16R\u¤6

Tales of Moonlight 15

Zhuge Liang’s Spirit Calculation:
An old merchant sees his enemy.
The room around you has no windows.
The arrow flies straight, transfixing the target.
Smoke rises from incense in a temple.
Try as he might he couldn’t see where it pointed,
although the ‘old merchant’ suggested that bun-
thrower Zhao Yu, and the line about incense gave
him an unpleasant feeling.
Black Hou and his two lieutenants set up watch in
the old pagoda north of the river. From the third
floor they could clearly make out the lights of the
House of the Perfumed Garden on the south bank.
This vantage point proved to have unexpected
benefits. Some time after nightfall, the three
became aware of people hanging about by the base
of the pagoda. Ding Kui crept down to find out and
returned to report that it was two of Zhao Yu’s
retainers. Black Hou’s face lit up. He stuck his head
out of the window and peered down at them.
Muttering an incantation he passed his fingers over
his eyes, then pointed downwards.
‘They’re festooned with protective talismans,’ he
said, his voice tinged with disappointment. He
glanced over at Snakeskin Lai who bowed his head
in shame.
‘I’ll go and kill them, Master,’ Lai offered. He
strung his little hunting bow and nocked an arrow,
then slipped out of the window. Hou marvelled
once more at the deftness of the fellow. He really
did seem to be able to move like an animal. He
discharged an arrow, slithered down the outside of
the pagoda like the creature from which his
nickname derived, and leapt after the uninjured
retainer. Although he had taken up the bow, he’d
never really got on with hand-to-hand weapons, but
he was plenty dangerous unarmed. He must have
learned to fight by wrestling tigers or something, for
he fought without mercy or deliberation of any
kind.
Snakeskin Lai dragged the bodies of Zhao Yu’s
retainers into the pagoda.
The three resumed their vigil. The summer was
long gone, and the night was chilly, but that didn’t
bother them much, Snakeskin Lai least of all. As
midnight drew closer, they became aware of
someone else near the base of the pyramid. This
one seemed to be a little more careful, but they soon
worked out that it was Teng Ai, Zhao Yu’s
bodyguard. Better still, he was free of talismans, and
was carrying two buckets, one containing chicken
blood, and the other ashes.
Black Hou slipped down and sidled up to him.
Teng Ai was clearly expecting to meet someone, as
he failed to react quickly enough to Black Hou’s
approach. A single word from Hou put him to sleep.
They dragged his unconscious form into the pagoda
and lay it with the bodies of the other retainers.
Hou then brought him around and inveigled him
with the Eyes of the Snake once more. He would
sleep until disturbed, at which point he would rise
and attack whoever had touched him. They
sprinkled him with chicken blood and splayed his
limbs around to make him look a more convincing
corpse, then retired to the second floor.
‘I’m enjoying this,’ Black Hou confided to his
lieutenants. ‘Though it makes me wonder just how
they thought they were going to catch me.’ For a
moment a look of horror crossed his face, and he
glanced down at Teng Ai and the two corpses. Then
he shook his head, and his expression returned to
its usual impassivity. ‘For a moment there I
feared… but no, those two are definitely dead, aren’t
they, and there’s no spirit ward among the
talismans.
‘I had planned on ambushing them after they gave
up waiting for me in the House of the Perfumed
Garden, but they have kindly presented me with an
alternative. Once they miss their comrades they will
come and look for them. With luck they will enter
the pagoda, see the bodies, and rush to them
anxiously… at which point this fellow jumps up
and starts attacking. We should hide outside the
pagoda, and then we can either ambush them on
the way out, or set the place alight or something—
whatever seems appropriate. Do you both
understand?’
Ding and Lai both bowed their agreement.
The plan almost worked. Later that night Black Hou
ruminated on whether it was his improvisation that
was at fault, and whether he would have been better
off sticking to the original. Still, it was of no matter.
Teng Ai had sprung up as instructed and attacked
Major Tan. Chaos broke out. Who would have ever
supposed that Zhao Yu would have managed to
persuade Teng Ai to throw off the enchantment and
together race back to the House of the Perfumed
Garden? Black Hou sent Ding Kui after him, but
there was no opportunity for ambush—Zhao
returned with a procession of women from the
House of the Perfumed Garden, all bearing lanterns.
Hou weighed up the prospects: he could just kill
the principals, allowing the women to witness it. Or
he could attempt to kill them all, and take the risk
that others would be drawn by the uproar. On
balance it seemed better to cut his losses. Telling
Lai and the returned Ding Kui to make themselves
scarce he sauntered up to Zhao Yu.
Tales of Moonlight 16

‘A dark evening for a stroll with ladies, is
it not, Sir?’ he sneered. ‘This town can be
dangerous at night. Perhaps you will find
better business elsewhere?’
Zhao Yu started, and seemed almost to
be on the point of using his sword. But
Hou was already off, disappearing down
the street into the shadows. From the other
direction came the sound of the night
watch, no doubt attracted by the shouts
and lanterns.
Back at the cave the next day Black Hou
put a brave face on the less than perfect
success of his scheme.
‘Major Tan is badly injured, two of Zhao
Yu’s retainers are dead, and we’ve given
them a fine fright. Zhao Yu knows he’s no
match for us, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised
if he didn’t get out of town. After all, the yamen
isn’t going to do anything about it. Did you find out
what was going on there, by the way, Ding?’
‘Yes, Master. This fellow Tong runs a gang of
thieves and pirates up and down the Yellow River.
We nabbed three of his men a little while back. My
guess is that he’d come about them. The medicine
pedlar you told me about was one of his. The Taoist
apparently injured him very badly after you’d left
the yamen.’
‘Really?’ Hou rubbed his chin, reflectively. Maybe
Tao Wu Shu was more of a friendly rival than an
implacable foe. ‘And where is the medicine pedlar
now?’
‘That I am afraid I don’t know, Master. He’s not
in the yamen, though. Tong seems to be running
things while cleaning out the coffers. It’s hard to tell
how long he’ll stay, but his men are on the gates
and if forces come from the prefecture my guess is
that he would hold the gate while sneaking out the
other side of town, or possibly out of the water gate.’
‘Interesting.’
Black Hou sat thinking, kicking his feet against
the cold stone sarcophagus. The other two knew
better than to interrupt him.
‘If he can hang on in the yamen for ten more days,
it will suit our purposes admirably. We may have
lost the hungry ghosts, but there were plenty killed
there, and their gui should still be wandering
around. In ten days’ time the stars will be aligned
again, and I can perform the ritual once more while
ridding the world of a bunch of crooks into the
bargain.
‘Ten days. I wonder if he’ll stay here that long?
We’ll have to keep an eye on the road to the
prefecture and see if we can’t intercept a messenger
or two. This Tong helped interfere with the ritual
the first time. It is only fitting that he be an integral
part of it the second.’
Zhao Yu meets Black Hou a second time
Tales of Moonlight 17


Ah, there you are. I noticed your absence at my last
sitting. Humble storyteller that I am, I would never
consider chiding my honourable audience, but word
has reached me, wending its way sinuously through
the alleys of human intercourse, until finally
enriching the ugly and ill-proportioned annularity of
my ears, that you have been patronising the ill-
aspected Wang, a man of dubious ancestry and
improbable habits, the thickness of whose mat is
inversely proportional to the wealth of his vocabulary;
in truth a rogue akin to his legendary namesake Wang
Mang, who tested his food on new-born babes and
once had the entire palace kitchen staff pulled apart by
wild mares because of a case of wind.
An unworthy spinner of fables such as myself
would never dare to impugn in even the most gentle
manner the taste of such excellent and star-kissed
worthies as your good selves, but it should be
remembered that finer witnesses than I have seen
Wang eating raw food. His bibulous nature is also
notorious, and his preference for fermented mare’s
milk has led many to dub him with unkind names
which would never, of course, escape the lips of a
nonentity such as Gai Long.
But I can see that you are chastened and wish to
hear no more of such a piffling bunhead. I will
return to the tale for which you have been kind
enough to appear before me. And I will attempt to
live up to the copious and irreproachably spendable
generosity which you have previously bestowed
upon me in the undeserved hope that such
munificence may prove to be entirely unlike the
fabled ox of Ling Qiu, which one day, in the midst
of ploughing a field, suddenly stopped in its tracks
and subsequently resisted with suicidal perversity
all attempts to get it moving once again.
What you would have heard, had you refrained
from patronising that egregious and ill-kempt whelp,
would have been how Zhao Yu set an ambush for
Black Hou, but found the tables turned on him.
Two of his retainers lay dead, and Major Tan badly
injured by an ensorcelled Teng Ai. Truly, Zhao Yu
had ridden the mudslide to the very bottom of this
particular valley of despair.
Yet he who rapidly descends a slope may find
himself borne some way up the other side. So it was
with Zhao Yu. By now he didn’t even need the
constant encouragement and persuasion of Gui
Hua to put steel in his determination. A lifetime of
frustration at the hands of petty officialdom had
bent back this old man like the arms of a crossbow,
and Black Hou was leaning against the trigger.
Meanwhile, events in Jinfang continued apace. One
day, its inhabitants awoke to rumours of a dawn
raid by soldiers. Sure enough, drawing near to the
yamen they found it buzzing with activity, with
grim-faced guards on the gate. Within, more
soldiers could be seen in the courtyard.
It transpired that the ‘doctor’ who had given Gui
Hua such an unprofessional massage was an
Imperial Censor. Unconventional in his methods,
he had decided to investigate for himself, in disguise,
the impeccable district which had sent such an
unusual murder case to the capital, occasioning the
intervention of a member of the Imperial
Bureaucracy. Upon arriving, he discovered that the
magistrate who had judged the case in question was
dead, and that the yamen had been seized by
rogues.
Knowing that the rogues had lookouts ready, and
would make their escape as soon as soldiers were
spotted approaching the town, he returned to his
Imperial Guard squad’s encampment, drew up a
plan and put it into effect. The four finest guards
donned disguises and slipped into the town. Just
before dawn the next day they seized control of the
Golden Idol Gate and killed the lookouts before
warning could be sent to the yamen. The gate
opened, the remainder of the squad marched in and
made its way to the yamen where, with deception
and brute force, they re-established Imperial Rule.
The surviving bandits, including their leader,
were flung into the cells, and the Censor assumed
the temporary position of District Administrator.
For the next few days inhabitants of Jinfang were
given occasion to ask themselves privately the
forbidden question of whether the Emperor’s
enlightened rule was inevitably to be preferred to
any other alternative. With Tong the carpet
merchant in control, precious little had changed in
the daily lives of the townsfolk. Paperwork fell a
little behind, it is true, but there was no descent
into immediate lawlessness, as one might expect.
Tong’s men proved to be hardly any worse as
constables than those formally invested with the job,
an unflattering comparison that was not lost on
Jinfang’s inhabitants. With the Imperial Guard in
command, however, fear descended on the town.
Laws are a little like snow. It is thickest at the top
of the mountain, but as you descend into the valley
it lies ever more lightly, providing no more than an
attractive covering. When snow falls so heavily as to
bury the valley under a thick blanket, people curse it,
and life moves slowly. Jinfang was now caught
under a heavy snowfall. Any slight infraction would
be seized upon with an unforgiving thoroughness.
The attitude of the soldiers seemed to be that every
last inhabitant of Jinfang shared a part of the
responsibility for Tong’s usurpation.
At the gates, queues formed in the mornings as
everyone attempting to enter or leave the town was
checked with fanatic thoroughness.
Tales of Moonlight 18

The trial of Tong was a spectacle that attracted
the largest crowd yet seen in the yamen. Sitting just
below the Censor at the front of the court was an
array of worthies of the town, including Zhao Yu’s
acquaintances Major Tan and Magnate Lu. Their
unprecedented placing seemed to be designed to
impress upon Tong that the full weight of the town
was against him, in addition to that of the Censor
and his soldiers.
The trial did not go as planned, however. In an
interview with Zhao Yu beforehand, the Censor
rehearsed him in what to say, but when his time
came the old merchant did not feel in any mood to
co-operate. The Censor attempted to pin on Tong
every crime that had been committed in the town,
including the atrocities in the yamen and the
murder of the magistrate. Zhao Yu wasn’t having
any of it. The scowling Censor cut short his
testimony and instead pressed on with the main
charges, soon finding Tong guilty. It didn’t take
much torture to secure a confession from Tong, and
he was duly sentenced to death. As he raised his
head to look at the Censor after sentence was
passed, his eye was caught by the row of dignitaries.
Spotting Major Tan among their ranks he started to
yell something, but was quickly beaten into
submission by the constables.
Zhao Yu left the yamen rather quickly in the
company of Gui Hua. The Censor was not pleased,
and it wouldn’t do to get in his way. Anyway, he
had a trip planned: to the Pearl Gorge Monastery, a
day’s journey south of Jinfang.
Two of Zhao’s retainers had been killed, and
although their bodies were to be sent back to their
home district, Zhao felt very strongly the
importance of making offerings for the calm repose
of their spirits. They had, after all, died in extremely
unpleasant circumstances and their spirits would be
greatly disturbed. The last thing Jinfang needed
after the last outbreak of hauntings was another
couple of ghosts causing trouble.
Zhao also promised the injured Major Tan that
he would burn joss for the Major’s daughter. This
mollified the old soldier somewhat, but it was clear
that his experiences in the pagoda had almost put
him off the old merchant for life. It was, perhaps,
only the evident fact that two of Zhao Yu’s retainers
lay dead that held his worse instincts in check.
Zhao kept his promise on arriving at the temple.
He dutifully burned incense for all the victims, and
as the smoke coiled upwards through the air, he
imagined their souls rising to heaven, escaping the
cycle of rebirth. He had other business there too,
however. Requesting an interview with the Abbot,
Spreading Willow, he stated quite frankly that he
had incurred the enmity of an evil sorcerer, and
wished for spiritual help in defeating him. As he
had expected, the Abbot dissembled, explaining that
such matters were not the concern of his temple,
which was devoted to monastic seclusion. When he
started to press the case, Spreading Willow
surprised him by insisting that no member of the
Buddhist clergy could do anything to help him rid
the world of Black Hou. What surprised him was
not the denial, but the name. He had made no
mention of the evil sorcerer’s identity.
The Abbot noticed his reaction.
‘Of course I am aware of who it is you oppose,’ he
explained. ‘Though we are in seclusion, we are not
ignorant of what is happening in the secular world.
You must understand, however, that the Buddhist
church cannot help you. We are subject to pressures
both political and spiritual. There are many in the
world who would seize with relish on any case of us
meddling with justice, and turn it to our
disadvantage.’
Zhao started to interrupt, but was cut short.
‘But there are those who may be prepared to help
you. To defeat your foe you need two things: the
strength of Earth, to overcome his physical
guardians; and the power of Heaven, to counter his
occult force. Both of these you will have to find for
yourself, but I will tell you this; in this area there
lives a hermit by the name of Mo who occasionally
helps out the poor and needy. He is rarely seen, but
I know of a grove a little way from here, which he
sometimes visits. If you go there today and carve
your name in the bark of a tree, perhaps you will be
able to meet him tomorrow.’
Zhao gave the Abbot a long, hard, look. The last
hermit he had met hadn’t helped him in the
slightest. Then again, if Black Hou’s power was
such that he could corrupt and control even a
Buddhist temple, then Zhao didn’t stand a chance
anyway. He might as well trust the Abbot.
So the next day, on their way home, Zhao, Gui Hua
and retinue met Hermit Mo in a grove. Hermit Mo
seemed a shy fellow, remaining beneath a tree with
his face shadowed by a hood. His voice was friendly,
though, and promised aid. He would come to
Jinfang in seven day’s time, and together they would
hunt out Black Hou and rid the world of him.
Hermit Mo’s voice sounded confident. It also
sounded uncannily reminiscent of the Abbot’s…
Did he have the power of Heaven? Zhao certainly
hoped so. Back in Jinfang, Zhao turned his
attention to the strength of Earth. His first thought
was the medicine pedlar, who had aided them in
their first victory over Black Hou. By a strange
chance, while attempting to set the abortive
ambush for their enemy in the House of the
Perfumed Garden, Zhao had happened to catch a
glimpse of the injured swordsman in one of the
rooms. He wasn’t sure why the man was not in the
Tales of Moonlight 19

yamen with his boss, Tong, but it worked out well
in the end, for Tong and lackeys were flung into the
cells when the Censor took over.
Rui the Eagle, as the swordsman was called, was
happy to talk to Zhao. He was quickly assured that
Tao Wu Shu was no particular friend of Zhao’s, but
merely a travelling companion. Although at the
mention of the Taoist a grim light appeared in Rui’s
eyes, it was obvious that he was in no condition to
supply the strength of the Earth. Despite his
attempts to disguise it, it was obvious that he was
in constant pain. Worse, he was unable to walk.
Major Tan, though less badly hurt than Rui, was
also far from fit. When told about a plan to finish off
Black Hou, though, he did promise to come along
and offer what assistance he could.
The strength of the Earth, then, would have to be
found elsewhere. Strangely enough, it turned up as
soon as Zhao stopped looking for it. Having scoured
the town for strong men, Zhao gave up and made
his way to the most exclusive restaurant in the
town. It was nothing special, but it was enough to
distract him from things, if only briefly.
As he sat munching on a rather highly seasoned
francolin, a large man strode into the room. The
man was dressed roughly, with a hooked nose and
tufts of hair protruding improbably from his head.
You didn’t have to be the major domo of a fancy
restaurant to know that the man was trouble. In a
flash the major domo was on him, but the big fellow
simply demanded food, ignoring all protests to the
contrary.
In such circumstances, most restaurants have the
same policy: call the cook! Out he came, a
mountain of fat, wielding a cleaver and hissing at
the newcomer like a steam kettle. A few seconds
later and he was picking himself up from the broken
remains of a table across the room, and surveying
the dent in the wall off which he had just bounced.
Silence had fallen in the room. Well-dressed
diners sat frozen in their seats, praying to the most
potent ancestors to which they could lay claim that
they would not be the next to be accosted.
The big man turned once more to the major domo,
who stood quivering like the grass on the steppes or
a reed in the marshes.
‘Perhaps the gentleman would care to join us for
some lunch?’ came a voice. The shocked major
domo turned incredulously to look at the old
merchant who had uttered the invitation. Although
he was accompanied by a bodyguard, the bodyguard
didn’t look that tough. Still, he nodded assent.
The big man proved to be a simple fellow by the
name of Wu Dong, who had been nicknamed
‘Tornado’ for as many years as he could remember
(not very many, it seemed to Zhao). Though getting
on in years, he was still full of vigour, and he sat
telling Zhao happily of all the trees he had uprooted,
oxen felled, and mountains headbutted. Even
allowing for the understandable exaggeration, his
casual swatting of the cook had demonstrated that
he was a man of no mean strength, though
exceedingly mean temper. Zhao treated him very
carefully. He got him drunk.
The trick was simple, a drinking game in which
the loser of a throw of the dice must down the cup.
Since the competition was between Tornado on the
one hand, and Zhao and Teng Ai on the other, and
Zhao was careful to take every opportunity he could
to cheat, Tornado was soon happily soused. The
other diners had seized the chance to flee, and the
waiters were careful to supply all the demands of
their remaining customers.
Just as Tornado seemed to be about to fall asleep,
he suddenly lurched to his feet, and staggered out of
the restaurant. Caught by surprise, Zhao decided to
be cautious and not follow him. ‘I was going to call
some constables to get him put in jail,’ he told Teng
Ai, ‘but maybe it’s better this way.’
A few days later, the party assembled. There was
Zhao Yu, now with a hunting bow, and a sword
carefully wrapped. There was Gui Hua, unarmed,
but determined to be in on the kill. Major Tan was
there too, wincing at the pain of his bound wounds,
but dressed in his old uniform and with his
weapons and armour also packed. Teng Ai was there,
of course, and finally the hermit Mo. All save the
hermit were festooned with talismans purchased
from the redoubtable Zhang.
The weaponry would have to be kept under wraps,
of course, until they were out in the countryside,
but still there was an air of determination about
them that spoke of a grim battle ahead.
Zhao Yu saved his surprise for them till just
before they left the town. Tornado seemed cheerful,
having been promised a good fight. As they passed
Wu Dong, ‘Tornado’





Tales of Moonlight 20

through the gate and made their way up country, he
entertained them with the story of how he had
visited a food stall somewhere in the south-west
quarter of Jinfang. It showed all the signs of having
been damaged, and two of the customers spoke
woefully of a bully from whom they couldn’t escape.
When the bully turned up, Tornado got on with
him famously, and they had gone on a three day
drinking binge together.
When they drew near their destination they
unwrapped their weapons, and Major Tan offered
Tornado a sword.
‘Pah!’ exclaimed Tornado. ‘What would I need a
sword for?’ He waved his fists under the major’s
nose. ‘These are good enough for me!’
Zhao and Mo had hatched the plan, though if you
asked Major Tan, he would be sure to tell you it was
his idea. Mo was certain that Black Hou was to be
found behind the false hermit Ran. A search among
the bushes down the valley from Ran’s hut
uncovered the entrance to a tunnel, and Mo
proclaimed that it led to Black Hou’s hideout. He
and Tornado continued up to the hut, to draw out
the false Ran, who had never seen either of them,
while the others made their way cautiously, and
lightlessly, along the tunnel.
Progress was slow, for every step had to be
preceded by careful feeling of the right hand tunnel
wall, and testing of the floor for pits or sharp stones.
Major Tan had insisted on going first, while Zhao
Yu told Teng Ai to bring up the rear, so as to protect
Gui Hua if necessary. After a while, though, faint
sounds reached them from up ahead, and a slight
glimmer became evident. They were nearing their
prey.
The tunnel gave out into a chamber in which
could be discerned a number of large regular shapes.
Now the origin of this strange subterranean lair
became evident. They had stumbled across the
mausoleum of some ancient dynasty. The shapes
were the sarcophagi of ancient rulers, now
desecrated by the presence of Black Hou. Is it too
much for me to suppose that the spirits of those
long-dead kings were watching as Zhao Yu’s little
band arrived?
Certainly luck was on their side. Both Black Hou
and Moonface were there, the former apparently
snoozing atop a sarcophagus, while the latter
concentrated on a book, holding it close to the light
of one of several lanterns.
The next part of the plan demanded that they
wait quietly until either Mo and Tornado turned up,
or an alarm was raised and Black Hou and
Moonface headed down the tunnel towards the hut.
Of course it didn’t work out that way. No sooner
had he seen Black Hou than Major Tan charged
into the chamber, shouting.

Fear not, my most philanthropic and munificent
listeners, there is little of my story left to tell.
Merchant Zhao Yu and his band of avenging angels
have already penetrated the mausoleum in which
Black Hou, a small man with a vaunting ambition,
makes his lair. They have found their enemy
himself asleep atop a sarcophagus, while his moon-
faced apprentice pores over a tome of some sort. It
only remains to dispatch the villain and the matter
will be settled.
Such, we may imagine, were the thoughts of Zhao
Yu, preparing to spring the ambush as planned. As
Black Hou had discovered earlier at the Pagoda in
Jinfang, however, even the best-laid plans
sometimes fail to run as smoothly as you would
like.
Major Tan, no doubt overcome with emotion at
this confrontation with the killer of his daughter,
charged shouting into the chamber. It was only a
brief warning, but it was enough. Hou adeptly rolled
off the other side of the sarcophagus, disappearing
from sight. Ding Kui—for such was the name of
Moonface—dropped his book and whipped out a
knife from either sleeve. When Major Tan reached
the sarcophagus, no opponent awaited him, and
worse: from his left a glittering knife flew towards
him.
Tan managed to avoid the first knife, thrown in
haste, but the second struck him in the left arm. By
now, however, Teng Ai had charged in to provide
assistance, and Ding Kui ducked down behind
another of the sarcophagi.
Zhao Yu was most discomfited. He nocked an
arrow to his bow, but no target presented itself.
When Black Hou stood up again, shouted an
incantation, bowed three times to the West, and
stuck a yellow talisman on his chest, he tried to
take aim, but Major Tan and Teng kept getting in
the way. Teng climbed over the sarcophagus while
Major Tan went around the side, keeping a careful
eye out for Ding Kui’s knives. While they did so,
Hou pulled out the bottle gourd from somewhere
and started chanting and gesturing again.
Zhao Yu and Gui Hua looked on aghast as Tan
and Teng closed on the sorcerer. As their swords
descended on him, he barely seemed to flinch,
waving at the swords vaguely while continuing to
gesture. Although the weapons seemed to bite, no
blood appeared, and Hou continued chanting. Tan
faltered.
At about this time, Hermit Mo and Tornado
burst into the chamber from a tunnel in the
opposite wall. Now things happened thick and fast.
Ding Kui’s head popped up over a sarcophagus and
took aim with another knife. This one buried itself
Tales of Moonlight 21

in Teng Ai’s side, and he doubled up in pain.
Hermit Mo, seeing this, performed the Mudra of
Turning the Wheel, and started to recite in some
religious language from the West. Ding Kui fell back.
At the same time, Black Hou turned from Teng and
Tan, and started to move towards an open area of
the chamber. From the opposite direction, however,
Tornado came charging.
Tan recovered his wits, and swung again at Black
Hou. Tornado, halfway to Black Hou, suddenly
vanished from sight, as if he had passed through an
invisible door. And finally Zhao Yu found he had a
clear shot at his villain.
It’s not clear exactly what happened. Tan’s blow
seemed to land, and yet at that moment Black Hou
disappeared, just as he had on the top of the
pyramid of skulls. The gourd hung in the air for a
fraction of a second before Zhao Yu’s arrow passed
right through it.
There was a moment of silence, and then the
gentle thud of the gourd hitting the floor.
Tan moved cautiously round to tackle Moonface,
but there was no need. His prostrate form lay in
foetal position behind the sarcophagus, faint groans
escaping his lips. Hermit Mo slowly approached,
continuing to chant his Buddhist litany. Tan started
to heft his sword but, glancing at the Hermit,
thought better of it. There was no sign of Tornado.
After catching breath and treating wounds there was
a little time for explanation. Mo ceased his chanting
and told of how he and Tornado had entered the hut
and called for Ran the Deep River. When the false
hermit emerged, Tornado leapt on him and buried
his fists in the man’s face. When his violent frenzy
subsided, a bloody pulp was all that was left. In the
back room of the hut they had examined the rear
wall and found that it could be moved. Mo had just
worked out how to lift it when Tornado lost patience,
and smashed his way though the middle. Behind, a
tunnel led into the cliff side. Pausing only to make a
flame to light their way, the two hurried along it.
Mo also explained what he had done to Ding Kui,
who by now was coming to. He had, he said, sent
Moonface’s souls on a visit to the Courts of Hell,
where he received a preview of the torments
awaiting him. Thanks to the distortions of time
between various realms, Moonface had spent
several hours suffering the most exquisite torture.
The listeners were sceptical, but when Ding Kui
came around there was something in his expression
that lent weight to Mo’s claims. He seemed
perfectly willing to be bound and taken back to the
town to face justice.
The little group headed back into the daylight. On
the way, Ding Kui directed them to a small side
chamber, and a cunningly concealed hole in the
wall, in which several bars of gold and silver were
secreted.
It was only when they had emerged from the
tunnel mouth that they noticed Teng Ai was
missing. Back into the tunnel they went. Poor Teng,
who had been drawing up the rear, had passed out
from the pain of his wound, and had to be carried
out. He came round a little while later, receiving
sympathy from all but Major Tan, who apparently
still bore a grudge over the Pagoda incident.
They then had to decide what to do. Snakeskin
Lai, the fake Master Ran, was dead. Black Hou,
Hermit Mo confirmed, was imprisoned within the
arrow-impaled gourd, hovering between the realms
of life and death. Ding Kui seemed to have
undergone a conversion.
And then there was the matter of the treasure.
Eyes had widened at the sight of so much wealth,
and desire for gold hung almost palpably in the air.
The problem, of course, was how to divide the
treasure fairly. Here Zhao Yu’s financial expertise
came into its own. He explained a complex system
by which the total treasure would be divided into a
number of shares, which would then be distributed
according to merit. No one seemed entirely happy
with Zhao’s division (especially as Zhao’s own
share seemed to most to be on the large side) but it
was the only solution that could be agreed.
Then there was the matter of Ding Kui. At first, it
had seemed obvious that he should be handed over
to the Jinfang authorities. During the discussion
over treasure, a new idea emerged. Perhaps it was
connected to the fact that handing over Ding Kui
would also necessitate handing over the treasure?
Or perhaps I am being unnecessarily dismissive of
the sincerity of Buddhist belief evinced by those
present. They believed that Ding Kui’s conversion
was genuine, and that rather than simply ending his
life, it would be better for all concerned if a share of
the treasure were used to buy a certificate so that he
could become a Buddhist monk. Ding Kui himself
seemed ecstatic at the prospect. Major Tan
protested for a while, but finally conceded when the
financial advantages of this arrangement were
spelled out.
As for the gourd: well, what could be done?
Wasn’t it better for all concerned to keep Black Hou
in there? Again, Major Tan protested, but when
challenged to suggest an alternative he could think
of nothing. The idea of burning the gourd was,
Hermit Mo insisted, rather too dangerous. So it was
decided. The gourd, too, would go to the Pearl
Gorge Monastery, where it would be carefully
guarded among all the other relics.
Back in Jinfang, Zhao Yu considered the future. He
seemed to be tied to this town by some fate. For
now he had won, and ideas for business were
occurring to him. There was a mansion which he
Tales of Moonlight 22

was thinking of building outside the East Gate (and
now he had a little spare cash to get started), and if
his guanxi with Li Jin Lao of Jun County was worth
as much as he thought it was, there was the
prospect of a good supply of silk. Why not open a
silk shop in Jinfang? There were worse ways to end
one’s days, and Magnate Lu, probably the wealthiest
inhabitant of the town, agreed that it might be a
good prospect.
Behind all this another scheme, too, was brewing.
A scheme to do with justice, the ineffectuality of the
authorities, and the ways in which those with
ability might use their skills for the good of those in
need. A scheme to bring out the sleeping dragons.
In the Pearl Gorge Monastery a new monk goes
about his duties. His round face seems strangely
calm, and some of the other monks comment that
it sometimes seems to possess a pale light of its
own. All agree, however, that he is a dedicated
monk, diligent in all the duties and rites.
On a shelf in the monastery’s reliquary sits a
bottle gourd, transfixed by an arrow. A plume of
smoke coils up into the air from an incense burner
on either side.
The End
The story continues in Tales of Sleeping Dragons

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